Sit-and-spin
Sit-and-spin robots are one of two forms of thwackbot to appear in Robot Wars. They work under the same principle as a full-body spinner, in that the entire robot is designed to act as a heavy spinning object which makes contact over a small surface area. Series 2 competitor Spin Doctor was the first robot to employ a sit-and-spin design - the most notable and successful in Robot Wars history include Series 10 joint-third place finisher Nuts 2, Series 6-7 Semi-Finalist Dantomkia (although it mainly relied on its rear-hinged flipper to succeed) and Dutch Series 1 runner-up Lizzard. Definition *'Sit-and-spin' refers to any robot whose only method of attack is to spin on its own axis in hope of damaging opponents when they drive close to it. Most sit-and-spin robots were armed with a sharp or blunt weapon along their ends or edges to facilitate damage, while others featured a circular body with spikes, blades or sharp edges along its sides. Meltybrain The sit-and-spin concept waned in popularity as more advanced and effective spinning weapons became more commonplace. During Robot Wars' hiatus, however, a builder in the US discovered and developed a control system which allowed sit-and-spin robots to move and spin at the same time. This technology, dubbed Meltybrain, involves equipping a sit-and-spin robot with LEDs and a motion detection system, enabling the robot to calculate its rotational speed and move across the arena in a controlled manner while spinning. The Meltybrain concept would not be utilised by a Robot Wars competitor until Nuts 2 in Series 10, with outstanding success. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages *Since the sit-and-spin design works under the same principles as those of full-body spinners, robots built this way could theoretically be as damaging as the latter weapon type. A notably effective sit-and-spin robot is inaugural Dutch Robot Wars runner-up, Lizzard, which used its tail to severely damage Neater's lifting forks during their Heat Final in the second series. **The damage potential of a sit-and-spin design can be greatly increased with Meltybrain technology. With this installed, Nuts 2 was able to damage Concussion's wheels and side panels, rupture Androne 4000's hydraulic lines and break Carbide's weapon chain with its flails during its Series 10 run. *The sit-and-spin design provides a great degree of protection from various attacks - including ramming - since such attacks will often result in opponents being deflected away upon contact. This was best shown in Spin Doctor's performance in the Series 2 King of the Castle Trial, where its shape and sit-and-spin tactics consistently prevented Matilda from being able to push it off the platform. *Due to a sit-and-spin robot requiring no powered weaponry, robots of this nature were very easy to produce, and some robots such as Dantomkia could resort to sit-and-spin tactics if they could not rely on their primary, powered weapons. Disadvantages *While it can be effective at damaging other robots in its range, a conventional sit-and-spin robot cannot usually move and attack at the same time; to attack, it must spin on the spot. **Spinning in place is not considered to be an aggressive tactic, a factor which can count against a conventional sit-and-spin robot in the event of a Judges' decision. ***Both of these problems can be rectified with a Meltybrain. However, heavyweights generally do not use this technology, and Nuts 2's Meltybrain was very slow due to poor traction on the floor. *If a sit-and-spin robot loses drive to one or more wheels on either side through any method, both its locomotion and main weapon will become incapacitated, as the robot relies purely on its drive system to attack. Nuts 2, for example, was unable to attack at all after one of its drive motors failed seconds into its Series 9 Group Battle. *Series 7 and the three reboot series implemented a rule which required all robots to possess an active weapon, which sit-and-spin robots would technically violate. Nevertheless, robots such as T-Wrecks and Nuts 2 still qualified for the televised series regardless. *Certain sit-and-spin robots were necessarily fragile, and their weapons could easily be damaged. This happened most infamously during Nuts' Head-to-Head battles with Carbide and Terrorhurtz in Series 8; in each battle, Nuts' opponents were able to remove the rotating ring, leaving it without any means to damage them in response. **Nuts 2's ring was broken by Carbide again in the Series 10 Grand Final. However, Team Nuts later stated that the ring was not welded properly, and would not have broken so easily otherwise. List of Sit-and-Spin Robots Robots are listed alphabetically. Robots which are not heavyweight entries are listed with a green background. Category:Weapon Types Category:Sit-and-Spin Robots